Twitter removes source app names from tweets

Twitter is serious about making its own interface the focus of a user's experience, as evidenced by the company's removal of the names of apps used to send tweets from the tweets themselves.

This essentially hides the branding of apps consumers use to tweets to the Twitter stream. For example, if you send the tweet using Hootsuite or Seesmic, the name of those apps used to appear in the expanded Twitter information.

It may be a small change, but it seems like a message to developers that Twitter wants its space to be its own; no free advertising for another company that competes with its user experience.

Twitter confirmed the change, which was rolled out on mobile previously and is now live on the Web, but the company said it's just doing some housekeeping.

"This is part of our ongoing work to simplify Tweets and emphasize the content being shared," a Twitter spokesperson told CNET.

Third-party developers have criticized Twitter's recent plan to restrict its application programing interface (API) feeds, particularly since some have created user experiences that are better than what Twitter has had to offer so far. But, Twitter has made it clear that it is protecting its assets, nurturing the companies that it thinks highlights its service rather than providing an alternative.

In the same vein, a popular Twitter app, Tweetbot, has shutdown its alpha version testing due to the new restrictions. Its creator Tapbots announced the news today, saying the company was "been unable to come up with a solution that was acceptable" to Twitter.